Convergence of cloud and mobile environments

ABSTRACT

In an approach for converging a cloud computing environment and a mobile device into an integrated environment, a processor receives a request to complete a computing task on a first device, wherein the computing task requires a physical sensor. A processor determines that the computing task should be offloaded from the first device to a second device based, at least in part, on the first device lacking the physical sensor and the second device having the physical sensor. A processor offloads the computing task from the first device to the second device. A processor receives a result of the computing task from the second device.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to the field of mobile and cloudcomputing, and more particularly to real-time resource identificationand monitoring to determine whether to offload a computing task frommobile to cloud or cloud to mobile.

Mobile computing is human-computer interaction by which a computer,transmitting data, voice, and video, is expected to be transportedduring normal usage.

Cloud computing is a kind of Internet-based computing that providesshared processing resources and data to computers and other devices ondemand. It is a model for enabling ubiquitous, on-demand access to ashared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks,servers, storage, applications, and services), which can be rapidlyprovisioned and released with minimal management effort. Cloud computingand storage solutions provide users and enterprises with variouscapabilities to store and process their data in third-party datacenters. Cloud computing relies on sharing of resources to achievecoherence and economy of scale, similar to a utility (e.g., theelectricity grid) over a network.

SUMMARY

Aspects of an embodiment of the present invention disclose a method,computer program product, and computer system for converging a cloudcomputing environment and a mobile device into an integratedenvironment. A processor receives a request to complete a computing taskon a first device, wherein the computing task requires a physicalsensor. A processor determines that the computing task should beoffloaded from the first device to a second device based, at least inpart, on the first device lacking the physical sensor and the seconddevice having the physical sensor. A processor offloads the computingtask from the first device to the second device. A processor receives aresult of the computing task from the second device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a cloud computing environment according to an embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts abstraction model layers according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating an integrated cloudand mobile environment, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting operational steps of an adaptive systemprogram installed on the cloud and mobile environment of FIG. 3, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of components of the cloud and mobileexecuting the adaptive system program, in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention recognize the growing amount andvariety of computing tasks asked of cloud computing environments andmobile devices. In some instances, a cloud computing environment ormobile device can become overloaded with computing tasks, and thenperformance in completing these computing tasks will suffer. In otherinstances, a cloud computing environment or mobile device may not havethe needed resource, such as a sensor, to complete a computing task.Embodiments of the present invention provide solutions by identifyingcapabilities and monitoring current resource utilization of mobiledevices and cloud computing environments. Based on this, as discussed ingreater detail herein, embodiments of the present invention determinewhether to offload a computing task from a mobile device to a cloudcomputing environment, from a cloud computing environment to a mobiledevice, and from a mobile device to a cloud computing environment to adifferent mobile device to provide enhanced performance of cloudcomputing environments and mobile devices. This integrated computingenvironment enables on-demand sharing of resources and on-demand loadsharing capabilities between a cloud computing environment and mobiledevices.

It is to be understood that although this disclosure includes a detaileddescription on cloud computing, implementation of the teachings recitedherein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g., networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported, providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail).The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage,or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exceptionof limited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, cnetworks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure that includes anetwork of interconnected nodes.

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference tothe Figures.

In FIG. 1, illustrative cloud computing environment 50 is depicted. Asshown, cloud computing environment 50 includes one or more cloudcomputing nodes 10 with which local computing devices used by cloudconsumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA) orcellular telephone 54A, desktop computer 54B, laptop computer 54C,and/or automobile computer system 54N may communicate. Nodes 10 maycommunicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physicallyor virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community,Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combinationthereof. This allows cloud computing environment 50 to offerinfrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloudconsumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 54A-N shownin FIG. 1 are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes10 and cloud computing environment 50 can communicate with any type ofcomputerized device over any type of network and/or network addressableconnection (e.g., using a web browser).

In FIG. 2, a set of functional abstraction layers provided by cloudcomputing environment 50 (FIG. 1) is shown. It should be understood inadvance that the components, layers, and functions shown in FIG. 2 areintended to be illustrative only and embodiments of the invention arenot limited thereto. As depicted, the following layers and correspondingfunctions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes 61; RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers 62;servers 63; blade servers 64; storage devices 65; and networks andnetworking components 66. In some embodiments, software componentsinclude network application server software 67 and database software 68.

Virtualization layer 70 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers71; virtual storage 72; virtual networks 73, including virtual privatenetworks; virtual applications and operating systems 74; and virtualclients 75.

In one example, management layer 80 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning 81 provides dynamic procurement ofcomputing resources and other resources that are utilized to performtasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and pricing 82provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloudcomputing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may include applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal 83 provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management 84provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such thatrequired service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planningand fulfillment 85 provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of,cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipatedin accordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 90 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation 91; software development and lifecycle management 92; virtualclassroom education delivery 93; data analytics processing 94; andtransaction processing 95.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a computingenvironment 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 3 provides only an illustration of one embodiment anddoes not imply any limitations with regard to the environments in whichdifferent embodiments may be implemented.

In the depicted embodiment, computing environment 100 includes cloudcomputing environment 102, mobile device 104, and mobile device 106interconnected over a network (not shown). The network may be a localarea network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, thepublic switched telephone network (PSTN), any combination thereof, orany combination of connections and protocols that will supportcommunications between cloud computing environment 102, mobile device104, and mobile device 106, in accordance with embodiments of theinvention. The network may include wired, wireless, or fiber opticconnections.

Cloud computing environment 102 operates to complete computing tasks andincludes adaptive system program 108 a. Cloud computing environment 102functions as described hereinabove in the FIG. 1 and FIG. 2descriptions. Cloud computing environment 102 can communicate with anytype of computerized device over any type of network and/or networkaddressable connection (e.g., using a web browser).

Mobile device 104 operates to complete computing tasks and includesadaptive system program 108 b. Mobile device 106 operates to completecomputing tasks and includes adaptive system program 108 c. Mobiledevice 104 and mobile device 106 can be laptop computers, tabletcomputers, smart phones, or any portable programmable electronic devicecapable of receiving and sending data and communicating with each othervia a network. In general, mobile device 104 and mobile device 106 arerepresentative of any electronic devices, or combination of electronicdevices, capable of executing machine-readable program instructions, asdescribed in greater detail with regard to FIG. 5. Computing environment100 may include additional computing devices, servers, computers, mobiledevices, or other devices not shown.

Adaptive system program 108 a, 108 b, and 108 c collectively operate todetermine whether a computing task should be offloaded based, at leastin part, on current resource utilization and device capability. Adaptivesystem program 108 refers to an instance of adaptive system program,generally, while 108 a, 108 b, and 108 c refer to adaptive systemprogram running on a specific local computing device or specificcomputing environment, as depicted in FIG. 3. In the depictedembodiment, adaptive system program 108 a identifies capabilities ofcloud computing environment 102 and monitors the current resourceutilization of cloud computing environment 102. In the depictedembodiment, adaptive system program 108 b identifies capabilities ofmobile device 104 and monitors current resource utilization of mobiledevice 104. In the depicted embodiment, adaptive system program 108 cidentifies capabilities of mobile device 106 and monitors currentresource utilization of mobile device 106. A resource of a cloudcomputing environment or mobile device may include, but is not limitedto, its CPU, memory, battery, network, and sensors. In some embodiments,when adaptive system program 108 receives a request to complete acomputing task, adaptive system program 108 determines whether thecomputing task should be offloaded based, at least in part, on devicecapability and current resource utilization. In some embodiments,adaptive system program 108 resides on cloud computing environment 102,mobile device 104, and mobile device 106. In other embodiments, adaptivesystem program 108 may reside on another cloud computing environment, oranother mobile device (not shown), provided that adaptive system program108 has access to location identifying information associated with cloudcomputing environment 102, mobile device 104, and mobile device 106.

Sensor 110 operates to measure physical qualities associated with amobile device or cloud computing environment. A sensor measures physicalqualities such as, but not limited to, temperature, light, heat,pressure, sound, and location. Sensor 110 is a resource that isidentified by adaptive system program 108. In the depicted embodiment,sensor 110 is located on mobile device 106 and measures physicalqualities associated with mobile device 106. In some embodiments, sensor110 may reside on cloud computing environment 102, mobile device 104,and mobile device 106. In other embodiments, sensor 110 may reside onanother cloud computing environment, or another mobile device (notshown).

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart 200 of the steps of adaptive system program108 executing within converged cloud and mobile environment of FIG. 3,in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In thedepicted embodiment, adaptive system program 108 operates to determinewhether a computing task should be offloaded based, at least in part, ondevice capability and current resource utilization.

In step 210, adaptive system program 108 receives a request to completea task. In the depicted embodiment, for example, adaptive system program108 receives a request to complete a computing task on cloud computingenvironment 102, mobile device 104, or mobile device 106. A computingtask, or task, can be, but is not limited to, a unit of execution, unitof work, unit of computation, set of actions, process, step, request, orquery for work. For example, when a user of mobile device 104 selects aweather application icon, adaptive system program 108 b receives arequest on mobile device 104 to open the weather application andgenerate the weather forecast for the user's current location. In someembodiments, completion of a task may require completion of multipleunits of execution, units of work, units of computation, sets ofactions, processes, steps, requests, or queries for work. For theweather application example, generating the weather forecast for theuser's current location entails determining a current temperature forthe city, a daily forecast for the city, and generating a currentprecipitation radar map for the city. In some embodiments, a taskrequires a sensor, such as sensor 110, to complete the task. For theweather application example, generating the weather forecast requires atemperature sensor to determine the current temperature of the user'scurrent location.

In step 220, adaptive system program 108 identifies and monitorsresources while processing the task. In the depicted embodiment,adaptive system program 108 identifies the resources of cloud computingenvironment 102, mobile device 104, and mobile device 106. In thedepicted embodiment, adaptive system program 108 monitors the resourcesof cloud computing environment 102, mobile device 104, and mobile device106. In some embodiments, adaptive system program 108 monitors, inreal-time, the usage and availability of resources on cloud computingenvironment 102, mobile device 104, and mobile device 106. For theweather application example, adaptive system program 108 b will identifyand monitor in real-time the usage and availability of resources onmobile device 104.

In some embodiments, adaptive system program 108 processes a task byidentifying the individual units or steps of the task. In someembodiments, adaptive system program 108 identifies what resources areneeded to complete each unit of the task. For the weather applicationexample, adaptive system program 108 b will process the request todetermine the current temperature for the city, generate a dailyforecast for the city, and generate a current precipitation radar mapfor the city. Adaptive system program 108 b will identify three units ofthe task as (1) determining the current temperature for the city, (2)generating a daily forecast for the city, and (3) generating a currentprecipitation radar map for the city. Then, adaptive system program 108b will identify what resources are needed for these units of the task.

In decision 230, adaptive system program 108 determines whether the taskshould be offloaded. For a task that includes multiple units, adaptivesystem program 108 will determine whether each unit of the task,separately, should be offloaded. In this embodiment, adaptive systemprogram 108 determines whether to offload the task based, at least inpart, on the identification of required resources and the monitoredcurrent resource utilization (see step 220). Reasons to offload a taskinclude, but are not limited to, an overloaded processor, low batterypower, data usage limits, and lack of a required type of sensor toperform the task. For the weather application example, adaptive systemprogram 108 determines that mobile device 104 lacks the requiredtemperature sensor to generate the weather forecast, therefore, the taskshould be offloaded. If in decision 230, adaptive system program 108determines the task should be offloaded, then, adaptive system program108 will offload the task (see step 240). If in decision 230, adaptivesystem program 108 determines the task should not be offloaded, then,adaptive system program 108 will determine whether the processing of thetask has been completed (see decision 260).

Continuing the weather application example, if adaptive system program108 b determines from monitoring mobile device 104 that mobile device104 has a low battery, adaptive system program 108 b may determine thatthe computing task of generating the radar map should be offloaded tocloud computing environment 102. This may, for example, conserve batterylife by reducing processor utilization. Then, if adaptive system program108 a determines from monitoring cloud computing environment 102 thatcloud computing environment 102 does not have the necessary type ofsensor (e.g., a temperature sensor) to determine the current temperaturefor the city, adaptive system program 108 a will offload the computingtask of determining the current temperature to mobile device 106, whichdoes have the necessary type of sensor, sensor 110.

In step 240, adaptive system program 108 offloads the task. In someembodiments, adaptive system program 108 uses remote method invocationto offload the task to a cloud computing environment or mobile device.Remote method invocation allows objects to access data and invokemethods on remote objects. In some embodiments, adaptive system program108 uses dynamic remote method invocation, which is a method that iscalculated at runtime then defined, to offload the task to a cloudcomputing environment or mobile device. In some embodiments, adaptivesystem program 108 can automatically filter, reconstruct, and deploy atask's functional unit code to a cloud computing environment or mobiledevice. In a first embodiment, where the task originated on mobiledevice 104, adaptive system program 108 b offloads the task to cloudcomputing environment 102. In a second embodiment, where the taskoriginated on cloud computing environment 102, adaptive system program108 a offloads the task to a mobile device, which, in this embodiment,could be mobile device 104 or mobile device 106. In a third embodiment,where the task originated on mobile device 104, adaptive system program108 b offloads the task to cloud computing environment 102, and then,adaptive system program 108 a offloads the task to mobile device 106.For the weather application example, adaptive system program 108 boffloads the computing task of generating the weather forecast to cloudcomputing environment 102. Then, adaptive system program 108 a offloadspart of the task, determining the current temperature of the city, tomobile device 106, which has the necessary type of sensor, sensor 110.

In step 250, adaptive system program 108 receives a result. In the firstembodiment, adaptive system program 108 b receives a result of the taskfrom cloud computing environment 102. In the second embodiment, adaptivesystem program 108 a receives a result of the task from mobile device104 or mobile device 106. In the third embodiment, adaptive systemprogram 108 a receives a result of the task from mobile device 106, andthen, adaptive system program 108 b receives the result of the task fromcloud computing environment 102. For the weather application example,adaptive system program 108 a receives the current temperature of thecity from mobile device 106 and adaptive system program 108 a sends thecurrent temperature data to mobile device 104 where the user, whooriginally requested the task, can view the current temperature in theweather application.

In decision 260, adaptive system program 108 determines whether theprocessing of the task has been completed. In some embodiments where thetask is made up of several units of work, adaptive system program 108can determine whether all the units of work have been completed orwhether it needs to determine whether another unit of work should beoffloaded. If, in decision 260, adaptive system program 108 determinesthe processing of the task has been completed (decision 260, yesbranch), then, adaptive system program 108 will end. Adaptive systemprogram 108 may determine that the processing of the task has beencompleted if, for example, the task is the execution of a computerprogram and the computer program has completed execution, or has beenclosed. If in decision 260, adaptive system program 108 determines theprocessing of the task has not been completed (decision 260, no branch),then adaptive system program 108 will proceed to continue to identifyand monitor resources while processing the task (see step 220). Adaptivesystem program 108 may determine that the processing of the task has notbeen completed if, for example, the task is the execution of a computerprogram and the computer program continues to execute.

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of components of computing environment100 in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention. It should be appreciated that FIG. 5 provides only anillustration of one implementation and does not imply any limitationswith regard to the environments in which different embodiments may beimplemented. Many modifications to the depicted environment may be made.

Computing environment 100 includes communications fabric 502, whichprovides communications between computer processor(s) 504, memory 506,persistent storage 508, communications unit 510, and input/output (I/O)interface(s) 512. Communications fabric 502 can be implemented with anyarchitecture designed for passing data and/or control informationbetween processors (such as microprocessors, communications and networkprocessors, etc.), system memory, peripheral devices, and any otherhardware components within a system. For example, communications fabric502 can be implemented with one or more buses.

Memory 506 and persistent storage 508 are computer-readable storagemedia. In this embodiment, memory 506 includes random access memory(RAM) 514 and cache memory 516. In general, memory 506 can include anysuitable volatile or non-volatile computer-readable storage media.

Adaptive system program 108 is stored in persistent storage 508 foraccess and/or execution by one or more of the respective computerprocessors 504 via one or more memories of memory 506. In thisembodiment, persistent storage 508 includes a magnetic hard disk drive.Alternatively, or in addition to a magnetic hard disk drive, persistentstorage 508 can include a solid state hard drive, a semiconductorstorage device, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EPROM), flash memory, or any other computer-readable storagemedia that is capable of storing program instructions or digitalinformation.

The media used by persistent storage 508 may also be removable. Forexample, a removable hard drive may be used for persistent storage 508.Other examples include optical and magnetic disks, thumb drives, andsmart cards that are inserted into a drive for transfer onto anothercomputer-readable storage medium that is also part of persistent storage508.

Communications unit 510, in these examples, provides for communicationswith other data processing systems or devices, including resources ofmobile device 104, mobile device 106, and cloud computing environment102. In these examples, communications unit 510 includes one or morenetwork interface cards. Communications unit 510 may providecommunications through the use of either or both physical and wirelesscommunications links. Adaptive system program 108 may be downloaded topersistent storage 508 through communications unit 510.

I/O interface(s) 512 allows for input and output of data with otherdevices that may be connected to computing environment 100. For example,I/O interface 512 may provide a connection to external devices 518 suchas a keyboard, keypad, a touch screen, and/or some other suitable inputdevice. External devices 518 can also include portable computer-readablestorage media such as, for example, thumb drives, portable optical ormagnetic disks, and memory cards. Software and data used to practiceembodiments of the present invention, e.g., Adaptive system program 108,can be stored on such portable computer-readable storage media and canbe loaded onto persistent storage 508 via I/O interface(s) 512. I/Ointerface(s) 512 also connect to a display 520.

Display 520 provides a mechanism to display data to a user and may be,for example, a computer monitor.

The programs described herein are identified based upon the applicationfor which they are implemented in a specific embodiment of theinvention. However, it should be appreciated that any particular programnomenclature herein is used merely for convenience, and thus theinvention should not be limited to use solely in any specificapplication identified and/or implied by such nomenclature.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles ofthe embodiment, the practical application or technical improvement overtechnologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinaryskill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by one or moreprocessors, a request to complete a computing task on a first device,wherein the computing task requires a physical sensor; determining, byone or more processors, that the computing task should be offloaded fromthe first device to a second device based, at least in part, on thefirst device lacking the physical sensor and the second device havingthe physical sensor; offloading, by one or more processors, thecomputing task from the first device to the second device; andreceiving, by one or more processors, a result of the computing taskfrom the second device.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the firstdevice is a mobile device.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the firstdevice comprises at least a portion of a cloud computing environment. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein the second device comprises one or bothof (i) at least a portion of a cloud computing environment, and (ii) amobile device.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:identifying, by one or more processors, one or more capabilities of thefirst device, wherein a first capability of the one or more capabilitiesis identified based, at least in part, on whether the first device hasthe physical sensor.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the requestoriginates from a third device.
 7. The method of claim 6, furthercomprising: sending, by one or more processors, the result of thecomputing task from the first device to the third device.
 8. A computerprogram product comprising: one or more computer readable storage mediaand program instructions stored on the one or more computer readablestorage media, the program instructions comprising: program instructionsto receive a request to complete a computing task on a first device,wherein the computing task requires a physical sensor; programinstructions to determine that the computing task should be offloadedfrom the first device to a second device based, at least in part, on thefirst device lacking the physical sensor and the second device havingthe physical sensor; program instructions to offload the computing taskfrom the first device to the second device; and program instructions toreceive a result of the computing task from the second device.
 9. Thecomputer program product of claim 8, wherein the first device is amobile device.
 10. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein thefirst device comprises at least a portion of a cloud computingenvironment.
 11. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein thesecond device comprises one or both of (i) at least a portion of a cloudcomputing environment, and (ii) a mobile device.
 12. The computerprogram product of claim 8, further comprising: program instructions toidentify one or more capabilities of the first device, wherein a firstcapability of the one or more capabilities is identified based, at leastin part, on whether the first device has the physical sensor.
 13. Thecomputer program product of claim 8, wherein the request originates froma third device.
 14. The computer program product of claim 13, furthercomprising: program instructions to send the result of the computingtask from the first device to the third device.
 15. A computer systemcomprising: one or more computer processors; one or more computerreadable storage media; program instructions stored on the computerreadable storage media for execution by at least one of the one or moreprocessors, the program instructions comprising: program instructions toreceive a request to complete a computing task on a first device,wherein the computing task requires a physical sensor; programinstructions to determine that the computing task should be offloadedfrom the first device to a second device based, at least in part, on thefirst device lacking the physical sensor and the second device havingthe physical sensor; program instructions to offload the computing taskfrom the first device to the second device; and program instructions toreceive a result of the computing task from the second device.
 16. Thecomputer system of claim 15, wherein the first device is a mobiledevice.
 17. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the first devicecomprises at least a portion of a cloud computing environment.
 18. Thecomputer system of claim 15, wherein the second device comprises one orboth of (i) at least a portion of a cloud computing environment, and(ii) a mobile device.
 19. The computer system of claim 15, furthercomprising: program instructions to identify one or more capabilities ofthe first device, wherein a first capability of the one or morecapabilities is identified based, at least in part, on whether the firstdevice has the physical sensor.
 20. The computer system of claim 15,further comprising: program instructions to send the result of thecomputing task from the first device to a third device; and wherein therequest originates from the third device.